NCCN Awarded Accreditation by the ACPE to Provide Continuing Education Credits to Pharmacists

NCCN has been approved to provide continuing education credits to pharmacists by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). NCCN offers web-based and live programs free of charge to educate pharmacists on treatment advancements in oncology.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) recently received continuing education accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) through June 2013. The approval is vital to oncology pharmacists in need of reliable, up-to-date, and evidence-based educational programs based on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines™).

NCCN has long recognized the importance of the oncology pharmacist as a member of the multidisciplinary treatment team for people with cancer. Pharmacists play an important role in the clinical decision-making process, both at the individual patient level and the drug use policy level.

Pharmacists dispensing chemotherapy require the clinical knowledge and expertise to effectively assess the appropriateness of therapy (i.e., for indication, dosing, etc.) and monitor patients for adverse effects. At the policy level, pharmacists are actively involved in formularies through their participation on Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committees for hospitals and managed care organizations, where they are often responsible for performing literature reviews and writing policy for committee approval.

As a newly ACPE-accredited provider, NCCN offers a number of high-quality web-based and live educational programs designed to meet the specific needs of oncology pharmacists. ACPE accreditation is available at the upcoming NCCN 6th Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™ on September 9 – 10, 2011 in New York, NY. Additional educational opportunities for pharmacists and other clinical professionals who manage patients with cancer can be found on-line at NCCN.org/interactive.

The ACPE is the national agency for accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE's Continuing Education Provider Accreditation Program is designed to assure pharmacists, boards of pharmacy, and other members of the pharmacy community that continuing pharmacy education programs are high-quality.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®), a not-for-profit alliance of 23 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. For more information, visit NCCN.org.

The NCCN Member Institutions are:

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Duke Cancer Institute
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center / Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Moffitt Cancer Center
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Stanford Cancer Institute
University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Colorado Cancer Center
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center